Soil Interview
I’ve listened to Soil for a long, long time now, and having witnessed their live show a few times, rate them as one of the finest bands out there. As such, when we were given the chance to catch up with them at their Plymouth show, I jumped at the chance to see what they had to say about their music, Ryan re-joining the band, and what the future holds! We sat down for 10 minutes with Ryan before the show, and thought we’d share what he had to say!
Thanks for having a chat with us Ryan, welcome to Plymouth!
Well thank you, it’s good to be here!
How are you finding the UK tour so far?
It’s been good, I mean we always expected it, it’s always been good to us so it hasn’t been disappointing at all, it’s been a good run so far!
So you had Hard Rock Hell at the weekend, how was that?
Yeah that was….uhhh…that was an experience (laughs)!
Do you want to expand on that or is it one to keep to yourselves?
It rained man, it was pretty wet and miserable but luckily being indoors we were able to have a rocking time in there, but getting from point A to point B was interesting, especially because at this moment in time we’ve got a couple of guys in the band who are under the weather, so it definitely didn’t help their cause. But the crowd were good and at the end of the day, it’s that time in stage that matters!
Too right, so the tour is going well then being on the road with Fozzy and Breed 77?
We have Villain, Breed 77, Fozzy and us, everyone seems to be getting on good so far, or I haven’t heard anything else anyway, I don’t know what they’re saying about us behind closed doors (laughs), but those guys, from all of the different bands have been easy to get along with, just good guys you know. In my opinion, and we’ve all been talking about it, they all seem to be bringing something to the table show wise as well. I mean I think it’s been good for the fans as well.
Getting some real variety across the shows?
I think so, I think so.
So, Redfine, Scars, then you took some time out – shall we say took some time out…
Yeah a little hiatus with Drowning Pool, little change of pace sort of thing (laughs)
How is it being back now? Did you sort of step back into it like nothing’s changed or has there been more to it?
It’s definitely different – I mean we’re all getting along which has to be a positive (laughs). But you know, it’s cool because, you know, if you go back to my original stint with the band from the beginning, we were all a bit younger, definitely new in the professional side of the music business, and we let a lot of things get to us that over the years we’ve learned were trivial, I mean at the end of the day, we wrote some good music together! I mean, I never want to be the guy patting myself on the back, but I think we did! And you know, being back with these guys and writing again, we seem to be picking up right where we left off on that aspect, and that really should have been everything that was important. It’s are you getting things across to people who need to hear it? When I hear people coming up and saying that we did, I wish we hadn’t ever lost sight of that. But at the end of the day, we let personal things get in the way of it, and like I said, that was some years ago, and we’ve all learned what’s important, and how trivial some of that stupid stuff was.
And yeah, I was getting to the point with Drowning Pool where things were getting stale for me, and I tend to have, I made a joke that the first show they recorded for that Live in London record we did, I said that I have commitment issues, but I think it’s true! It sucks to say it but I think it’s true, I mean after a while things with the business start getting to me, and just the same situation over and over again tends to wear on me, and I was getting to that point with Drowning Pool so it was just time to find something to re-spark that fire again. Singing the old material and remembering where I was mentally and emotionally when I wrote that stuff, it was cool to remember that all over again and feel it again.
So where did it come from? I mean, you listen to the records and, Redfine particularly, it’s like one song across the whole record – I know it’s split up but each one seems to flow into the next as you listen. Then you’ve got moments which sound like Metallica, then Spanish style guitar thrown in…where does that all come from to end up on a record?
Uhhhh…I mean I don’t know, I mean I’m in the room when we’re taking care of the music side of things, because you know as soon as I get a riff, I get the lyrics in my head so I can help with how the song is built, you know because I’ll be able to say go back and do that part like that and the arrangement. But musically, I can’t play instruments, I mean I’ve tried them all, but I suck! Lyrically speaking, I’ve got binders of music, pads of paper of lyrics that I’ve written since I was a teenager that will never be used for songs. I mean I hear music in my head when I write them but again, I can’t play. I tend to just, when someone hits me with a riff, like when Adam’s sat there just doodling with his guitar tuning up I’ll be like what was that, and he’ll be like what was what, and we’ll build a song from it. Or he’ll come to practice with a song already built, you know like the skeleton already there and he’ll play it for me, and I’ll hear something lyrically in my head based on what I’m experiencing there.
Redefine may be more of that cohesive thing when I think about what you said because most of the album was written when we were on the road. With Scars, I mean that’s the way it is with most bands albums because you have a lot of time when you’re on the road, so yeah the material that goes into that first album really spans over a big period of time because you’re working, trying to get signed and trying to get out there so there’s a lot of different experiences which are going on, where as Redfine was really written in a closer proximity of time. I mean most of it was written when I was laying in my bunk on the tour bus so it was probably all from around the same sort of time. You know, the same feelings and things, so I can see where that would come across.
So with the new album then, I mean you’re getting the fans to pledge for it, is that a decision to move away from the controls of record labels?
Absolutely, when we did the anniversary tour that was all it was meant to be, but we had way too much fun doing it. We came back and I was in the mental state of not being sure what I wanted to do next. Anyway, we started talking about writing some new stuff and what we might do next, whether we might do a new record. All three of us though were of the same opinion that if we did a new record, we wanted to be in complete control of it. Too many times in our careers we’ve had people, you know the powers that be, saying to do this or do that and we’ve been there saying that’s not the right move, but you know, they have a say at the end of the day. We wanted to be at a point in our careers where we could make the choices and be the guy that you point the finger at if you screw up, and luckily we’ve made enough contacts in the business that we feel like we know the right people to get involved in all of the different processes of doing the record on our own. We just felt like, especially in this day and age, that we wanted to record an album that was the truest sense of Soil that we could get out there. I mean I’ve been told for the last 12 years to cut my hair, to shave, to not dress like a vagabond, but I’m tired of having those arguments! I’ve had those stupid conversations like that affects the type of music you write, too many times, I don’t want to have them with some guy sat at the end of the table who is making way too much money, who is taking my kids money but affects me in a negative way – so it had to be on our own! The problem is, I mean you follow music so you know, there’s a big difference between the sort of money Metallica makes compared to the sort of money the other 99.9% of bands make. So at this point, we needed help to be able to do this, and Kickstart provided us with the means to do it! At first I felt like a bum sitting on a street corner with my hand out and didn’t like it, but I started talking to people about it and they were like do it, fans were even telling me to think about it, you know, you’re giving people a chance to come in and sit in on a studio day or watch us play – before you started doing this and when you were just a fan, what if you’d had a chance to do it then for Metallica or Alice in Chains and I was like hell yeah they were awesome! They were like you know, there are people out there who think the same about you guys, I’m like woah I don’t know about that, I mean you’re talking about Alice in Chains, but yeah.
So I mean, I started to get it more with what people were saying to me, thinking about how people get the chance to be involved and eat pizza or drink with their favourite bands….it’s cool.
(Unfortunately at this stage they had to open doors so we had to cut short)
Listen Ryan that’s been awesome, could have just sat here and talked music all night so cheers for that.
Ahh shit, no worries man – thanks.
Good luck with the album and the rest of the tour!
Thanks.
Continuing on from our chat with Ryan at the Plymouth show, Tim was kind enough to answer some questions for us afterwards, just to finish everything off!
We were at the Plymouth show and from where we were stood, it sounded pretty awesome – how was the show for you guys?
Yes it was great. The UK is a second home for us so it usually is a sick crowd. This one was no different.
When are you next back in the UK for some more shows?
Well, considering we just got home yesterday from this whole tour, I don’t know – Ha! Ha! Ha! We will probably be coming over again next summer, 2013, to support the new album as it’s ready for release.
Ryan said that the Kickstarter project is going really well, and looking at the site you’ve already exceeded your target goal – what sort of sound can we expect from the new album?
As Ryan has been saying, it’s like a combination of Scars meets Re.De.Fine, but with 8 years of experiences thrown in between.
Do you think that the time without Ryan in the band has developed the sound of Soil or with him back in the ranks can we expect more of that older style?
The albums we did without Ryan definitely had the Soil sound musically, but were a different animal vocally. With Ryan back, the sound will definitely now be the ‘classic’ Soil sound and the original vision vocally of the band too.
Reading through the information we were sent through, it mentions that you guys all had a mutual love for the Death Metal scene – is that something which has influenced your sound do you think?
Well, me and Adam were in a Death Metal band called ‘Oppressor’ together, that’s true. Death metal influenced us back then…but it doesn’t play a role in Soil at all. I still love Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse though! Oh, and Carcass!!
Other than recording the new album, what are your plans for 2013?
Record, tour, and then tour some more!!
Any planned festival appearances for next year that we need to get looking into?
We will see!
Finally, if you had the chance to share a message with the world (whether it be simply and to the point or more profound), what is your message to the world?
Never give up on your dreams.
A massive thanks to Tim for taking the time to answer some questions for us by email, and to Ryan for the time before the gig. You can check out what Soil are up to at their Website HERE, and their Facebook page HERE.
Thanks for having a chat with us Ryan, welcome to Plymouth!
Well thank you, it’s good to be here!
How are you finding the UK tour so far?
It’s been good, I mean we always expected it, it’s always been good to us so it hasn’t been disappointing at all, it’s been a good run so far!
So you had Hard Rock Hell at the weekend, how was that?
Yeah that was….uhhh…that was an experience (laughs)!
Do you want to expand on that or is it one to keep to yourselves?
It rained man, it was pretty wet and miserable but luckily being indoors we were able to have a rocking time in there, but getting from point A to point B was interesting, especially because at this moment in time we’ve got a couple of guys in the band who are under the weather, so it definitely didn’t help their cause. But the crowd were good and at the end of the day, it’s that time in stage that matters!
Too right, so the tour is going well then being on the road with Fozzy and Breed 77?
We have Villain, Breed 77, Fozzy and us, everyone seems to be getting on good so far, or I haven’t heard anything else anyway, I don’t know what they’re saying about us behind closed doors (laughs), but those guys, from all of the different bands have been easy to get along with, just good guys you know. In my opinion, and we’ve all been talking about it, they all seem to be bringing something to the table show wise as well. I mean I think it’s been good for the fans as well.
Getting some real variety across the shows?
I think so, I think so.
So, Redfine, Scars, then you took some time out – shall we say took some time out…
Yeah a little hiatus with Drowning Pool, little change of pace sort of thing (laughs)
How is it being back now? Did you sort of step back into it like nothing’s changed or has there been more to it?
It’s definitely different – I mean we’re all getting along which has to be a positive (laughs). But you know, it’s cool because, you know, if you go back to my original stint with the band from the beginning, we were all a bit younger, definitely new in the professional side of the music business, and we let a lot of things get to us that over the years we’ve learned were trivial, I mean at the end of the day, we wrote some good music together! I mean, I never want to be the guy patting myself on the back, but I think we did! And you know, being back with these guys and writing again, we seem to be picking up right where we left off on that aspect, and that really should have been everything that was important. It’s are you getting things across to people who need to hear it? When I hear people coming up and saying that we did, I wish we hadn’t ever lost sight of that. But at the end of the day, we let personal things get in the way of it, and like I said, that was some years ago, and we’ve all learned what’s important, and how trivial some of that stupid stuff was.
And yeah, I was getting to the point with Drowning Pool where things were getting stale for me, and I tend to have, I made a joke that the first show they recorded for that Live in London record we did, I said that I have commitment issues, but I think it’s true! It sucks to say it but I think it’s true, I mean after a while things with the business start getting to me, and just the same situation over and over again tends to wear on me, and I was getting to that point with Drowning Pool so it was just time to find something to re-spark that fire again. Singing the old material and remembering where I was mentally and emotionally when I wrote that stuff, it was cool to remember that all over again and feel it again.
So where did it come from? I mean, you listen to the records and, Redfine particularly, it’s like one song across the whole record – I know it’s split up but each one seems to flow into the next as you listen. Then you’ve got moments which sound like Metallica, then Spanish style guitar thrown in…where does that all come from to end up on a record?
Uhhhh…I mean I don’t know, I mean I’m in the room when we’re taking care of the music side of things, because you know as soon as I get a riff, I get the lyrics in my head so I can help with how the song is built, you know because I’ll be able to say go back and do that part like that and the arrangement. But musically, I can’t play instruments, I mean I’ve tried them all, but I suck! Lyrically speaking, I’ve got binders of music, pads of paper of lyrics that I’ve written since I was a teenager that will never be used for songs. I mean I hear music in my head when I write them but again, I can’t play. I tend to just, when someone hits me with a riff, like when Adam’s sat there just doodling with his guitar tuning up I’ll be like what was that, and he’ll be like what was what, and we’ll build a song from it. Or he’ll come to practice with a song already built, you know like the skeleton already there and he’ll play it for me, and I’ll hear something lyrically in my head based on what I’m experiencing there.
Redefine may be more of that cohesive thing when I think about what you said because most of the album was written when we were on the road. With Scars, I mean that’s the way it is with most bands albums because you have a lot of time when you’re on the road, so yeah the material that goes into that first album really spans over a big period of time because you’re working, trying to get signed and trying to get out there so there’s a lot of different experiences which are going on, where as Redfine was really written in a closer proximity of time. I mean most of it was written when I was laying in my bunk on the tour bus so it was probably all from around the same sort of time. You know, the same feelings and things, so I can see where that would come across.
So with the new album then, I mean you’re getting the fans to pledge for it, is that a decision to move away from the controls of record labels?
Absolutely, when we did the anniversary tour that was all it was meant to be, but we had way too much fun doing it. We came back and I was in the mental state of not being sure what I wanted to do next. Anyway, we started talking about writing some new stuff and what we might do next, whether we might do a new record. All three of us though were of the same opinion that if we did a new record, we wanted to be in complete control of it. Too many times in our careers we’ve had people, you know the powers that be, saying to do this or do that and we’ve been there saying that’s not the right move, but you know, they have a say at the end of the day. We wanted to be at a point in our careers where we could make the choices and be the guy that you point the finger at if you screw up, and luckily we’ve made enough contacts in the business that we feel like we know the right people to get involved in all of the different processes of doing the record on our own. We just felt like, especially in this day and age, that we wanted to record an album that was the truest sense of Soil that we could get out there. I mean I’ve been told for the last 12 years to cut my hair, to shave, to not dress like a vagabond, but I’m tired of having those arguments! I’ve had those stupid conversations like that affects the type of music you write, too many times, I don’t want to have them with some guy sat at the end of the table who is making way too much money, who is taking my kids money but affects me in a negative way – so it had to be on our own! The problem is, I mean you follow music so you know, there’s a big difference between the sort of money Metallica makes compared to the sort of money the other 99.9% of bands make. So at this point, we needed help to be able to do this, and Kickstart provided us with the means to do it! At first I felt like a bum sitting on a street corner with my hand out and didn’t like it, but I started talking to people about it and they were like do it, fans were even telling me to think about it, you know, you’re giving people a chance to come in and sit in on a studio day or watch us play – before you started doing this and when you were just a fan, what if you’d had a chance to do it then for Metallica or Alice in Chains and I was like hell yeah they were awesome! They were like you know, there are people out there who think the same about you guys, I’m like woah I don’t know about that, I mean you’re talking about Alice in Chains, but yeah.
So I mean, I started to get it more with what people were saying to me, thinking about how people get the chance to be involved and eat pizza or drink with their favourite bands….it’s cool.
(Unfortunately at this stage they had to open doors so we had to cut short)
Listen Ryan that’s been awesome, could have just sat here and talked music all night so cheers for that.
Ahh shit, no worries man – thanks.
Good luck with the album and the rest of the tour!
Thanks.
Continuing on from our chat with Ryan at the Plymouth show, Tim was kind enough to answer some questions for us afterwards, just to finish everything off!
We were at the Plymouth show and from where we were stood, it sounded pretty awesome – how was the show for you guys?
Yes it was great. The UK is a second home for us so it usually is a sick crowd. This one was no different.
When are you next back in the UK for some more shows?
Well, considering we just got home yesterday from this whole tour, I don’t know – Ha! Ha! Ha! We will probably be coming over again next summer, 2013, to support the new album as it’s ready for release.
Ryan said that the Kickstarter project is going really well, and looking at the site you’ve already exceeded your target goal – what sort of sound can we expect from the new album?
As Ryan has been saying, it’s like a combination of Scars meets Re.De.Fine, but with 8 years of experiences thrown in between.
Do you think that the time without Ryan in the band has developed the sound of Soil or with him back in the ranks can we expect more of that older style?
The albums we did without Ryan definitely had the Soil sound musically, but were a different animal vocally. With Ryan back, the sound will definitely now be the ‘classic’ Soil sound and the original vision vocally of the band too.
Reading through the information we were sent through, it mentions that you guys all had a mutual love for the Death Metal scene – is that something which has influenced your sound do you think?
Well, me and Adam were in a Death Metal band called ‘Oppressor’ together, that’s true. Death metal influenced us back then…but it doesn’t play a role in Soil at all. I still love Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse though! Oh, and Carcass!!
Other than recording the new album, what are your plans for 2013?
Record, tour, and then tour some more!!
Any planned festival appearances for next year that we need to get looking into?
We will see!
Finally, if you had the chance to share a message with the world (whether it be simply and to the point or more profound), what is your message to the world?
Never give up on your dreams.
A massive thanks to Tim for taking the time to answer some questions for us by email, and to Ryan for the time before the gig. You can check out what Soil are up to at their Website HERE, and their Facebook page HERE.
